By Nathan Bomey

(Excerpt)

Between the lines: Nearly 1 in 4 private-sector workers don’t have paid sick time, including about 7 in 10 of the lowest-paid employees, according to the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).

Context: Democrats had included paid sick leave in President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, but the initiative is dead for now after they were unable to gather enough support on Capitol Hill amid opposition from Republicans.

• “It’s completely indefensible that two years into a global pandemic we don’t have comprehensive, guaranteed paid sick time,” CLASP worker advocate Emily Andrews tells Axios.